Tag: Marvel Universe

The Punisher’s back, skull, firearms and singular purpose complete and with its longest ride yet. Could the small screen at last give one of Marvel’s most adapted, and still most difficult character’s a break?

DAREDEVIL SERIES 2 HAS JUST UNLEASHED AN ALL NEW PUNISHER ON THE MASSES, THIS TIME FINDING A WAY FOR FRANK CASTLE TO BREAK INTO THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE AS HE DEBUTS IN SMALL SCREEN LIVE ACTION. That Netflix contained Hell’s Kitchen, so far shaped by the first closed seasons of Daredevil and Jessica Jones, looks perfect for him. And in taking on the patch patrolled by the often more brutal Man without Fear, it looks like his anti-hero/villain status will have just the bridge he needs.

A square peg. With a skull on it

The Punisher is and has always been a difficult fit for the Marvel Universe, but typically, that’s exactly where the huge appeal the character springs from, continuing to attract creators no matter the Marvel imprint or scale of crossover event.

The Punisher doesn’t just have the potential to bring death and extreme violence into the comic book universe, darker and blunter than the various homicidal villains and amoral antiheroes in that huge universe, but also a complete lack of redemption. As countless films remind us, this is not vengeance or revenge as much as various storylines have found ways to drag up the tragic past that broke policeman Frank Castle. This is punishment. And as soon as the Punisher was born from that broken shell, as soon as the skull shirt was put on and the wicked punished, all hope of redemption was off the table. There sits on his shoulders the weight of many deaths, no matter how avenging or moral they seem. Rumour has it that’s a key part of him entering Daredevil’s universe…

Still, that’s a remit that makes the Punisher all the more difficult to slot into a film. You have all manner of three act and tragic precursors to drag this difficult slant into the mundane. One of the nearest comparators in comic books, with a career shaped by tragedy is of course Batman. But the Dark Knight quickly became a metaphor within his fictional city, and creators have had great fun playing with the idea of escalation that chucks increasing layers of the grotesque at him. The Punisher’s encountered his fair share of grotesques, but in the hard reality of his America, the two shadowy figures are entirely separated by the use of fatal force.

Issues. With a skull on them

Still, as with the Dark Knight, Punisher stories and particularly adaptations find it difficult to stop reminding us about Castle’s stark tragedy, albeit only one of the three film adaptations so far have wandered onto that difficult canvas of trying to solve it.

Batman represents the loss of childhood innocence. He was steered into a life where he sought to protect following a savage murder that he could not have stopped as a child. In comic book lore, Frank Castle was an adult, a highly experienced soldier who failed to protect his wife and two children. He was forged in the heart of Manhattan, in Central Park. While both may lurk in dark hideouts, unlike Batman Castle doesn’t have an incredible array of technology that can mimic and counter his grotesques. His brand of justice requires huge firepower, ultra-violence death and action. He employs every tool of the villain to make that happen. And many, many of his victims are minor mafia attached criminals.

Spider-Man may have jumped into the Marvel Cinematic Universe just in time to take up a valuable role in Marvel’s tent-pole film of 2017, Civil War, but there’s no chance the Punisher will. Frank Castle first appeared in the pages of a 1974 Spider-Man comic and wold go on to play a considerable role in Mark Millar’s original Civil War comic event. However, once again, the irreconcilable, utterly irredeemable qualities of what’s left of Frank Castle mean that even in moments of extreme Marvel crisis he’s no easy fit with the rest of the Marvel elite.

Peak Punisher. With a skull on it

There are three films starring Marvel’s awkward antihero to look at, but it would be impossible to ignore the work of the Punisher’s definitive contributor on the page. Above everybody else is Garth Ennis. As ever a writer who prefers to steer clear of superheroes, but unfortunately writes them brilliantly.

His ongoing series cancelled in the mid-90s, Castle spent some time clinging onto in mini-series before Garth Ennis’ 12-part run at the beginning of the 21st century returned his popularity. The Punisher’s look was pared down (farewell those Mickey Mouse gloves) and soon Ennis had moved across to the adult MAX imprint, legendarily given an unlimited run on the character; one that produced heavy, realistic and wonderfully dark tales for 66 issues. That series would continue tackling modern world events, having established a universe where Vietnam-veteran Punisher had been active for 30 years and taken over 2,000 lives, until the character’s own death. Other comic series would drag Castle into superhuman scraps, mutant meltdowns and even transform him into the undead like of FrankenCastle during the publisher’s Dark Reign event.

There’s nothing like a good antihero, and he’s one of the psychologically damaged originals. So it’s no surprise that aside from his devastating runs on animated series and his huge homecoming on Netflix, he’s fronted three feature length films. But none of these have sustained a franchise, each picking up a different actor for a different portrayal of Castle. Perhaps the prolonged serial story of the new Daredevil adaptation will finally be able to piece together a compelling persona for one of the most damaged Marvel has to offer. Continue reading “Marvel: “Go to Hell Castle” – The Punisher on Film”

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2015 has seen Marvel’s media dominion diversify more than ever. And that’s saying something. But on small and big screen, the conclusion of their Phase Two demonstrates a healthy return to the good old basics of their juggernaut machine. A return to corporate espionage mashed together with some second-chance vigilante justice that’s a tad grey, and not in that old-fashioned SHIELD way – Jokerside turns to Daredevil and Ant-Man. *Spoilers as guaranteed as an end credit teaser*.

Daredevil (Netflix, 2015)

The Devil in Hell’s Kitchen

“I had to choose paths or fate would choose for me”

JOKERSIDE’S ALREADY ADMITTED ITS FONDNESS FOR PREMIER SILVER AGE HERO FLASH OVER AT DC COMICS, AND NOW IT’S TIME TO COME CLEAN ABOUT MARVEL. DAREDEVIL’S ALWAYS BEEN A FAVOURITE. Was it the Frank Miller comics or perhaps his link up with Bill Bixby’s Incredible Hulk? No, apparently it was Marvel Superhero Top Trumps (1988 variety) – one fixed and classic image among the many (64 to be precise) that will always steer Jokerside’s view of the heroes and villains of the Marvel universe.

Or maybe it’s just a red thing.

Whatever, an unmissable adaptation of Daredevil has been a long-time coming. An instantly fascinating character, but an awkward one, Daredevil was Fox’s second big stab at the Marvel machine following X-Men in 1999. But that 2003 film, despite getting a lot more right than people gave it credit for, performed poorly. And that was even before the emergence of the solid Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was packed out with characters from the Daredevil myth including Electra, Kingpin and Bullseye but its lack of success showed how comic book films have always teetered on a razor edge. Although Joe Carnahan’s 70’s pitch at the end of the Fox era was intriguing, it came too late in the game for the rights bods at Fox and the Man without Fear soon found himself back in his home fold. But what could Marvel do with their returning devil?

Downsizing

“This is the part where law meets reality”

Daredevil lends himself to a series, with famous storylines on page, particularly Frank Miller’s stunning runs, doing much to cast him as a compelling character. Beyond the accident, the subsequent blindness, the fierce protection of Hell’s Kitchen, the law and the Catholicism, Daredevil’s far more a product of top creators’ lengthy explorations of how all those elements fit into a tight and claustrophobic universe. He’s certainly not as mass-friendly as Spiderman despite being a mere two years younger than him in publication, and quite easily the ideal choice to spearhead Marvel’s charge on Netflix.

Daredevil knows just when and when not to comply with the Marvel universe. Ant-Man’s heist structure is a good example of the studio’s ‘genre’ approach to their films, a tack that’s served them brilliantly, particularly through Phase 2. If anything Daredevil thematically responds to legendary 1970s films of New York, from Scorsese to Friedkin, in setting out a grittier and defiantly earth-bound hero amid the phase that set out Marvel’s extra-terrestrial agenda. That was unavoidable, especially after Carnahan’s speculative sizzle reel.

Alleyways

“This district is changing”

Most importantly Daredevil plays very well to the small screen budget. The climax of the second episode Cut Man with its brilliantly orchestrated corridor take-down of Russian henchmen, who keep coming back for more against this quite human vigilante, shows that at its best. Just think how this is going to pan out with The Punisher’s entrance just round the corner…